Nebraska Prospects that Impressed Saturday Night at Midwest Live

<p>Midwest live brought talent from all over the midwest region to compete under one roof at the Iowa West Field House in Council Bluffs. I was able to catch the final three games on Saturday and was impressed with the Nebraska prospects in the building. The Omaha Sports Academy 17u Adidas team was not competing in the tournament, but played two exhibition games Saturday night. Hoffman Hoops Academy and Nebraska Select also had some interesting prospects that caught my attention. These are 10 Nebraska players that stood out in the final three games of day two at Midwest Live. </p> <h5><span class="s2">[player_tooltip player_id="890463" first="Denim" last="Johnson"]</span></h5> <p><span class="s2">Johnson is an explosive athlete and aggressive defender. He effortlessly get vertical to finish with power at the rim. He impressed me with his ball handling ability in transition and creating for himself. He has the skill and athleticism to play either guard position at the next level.</span></p> <h5><span class="s2">[player_tooltip player_id="773443" first="Hunter" last="Sallis"] </span></h5> <p><span class="s2">Sallis showed why he is is the number one player in the state and a nationally ranked prosect. He floats through the air to finish with creativity and power. He consistently beat the defense back in transition, once finishing an alley oop with his head near the rim. Sallis was also physical and active defensively, blocking shots and getting his hands involved. </span></p> <h5><span class="s2">[player_tooltip player_id="981702" first="Jake" last="Appleget"]</span></h5> <p><span class="s2">Appleget was dominant in his last game of the night scoring from everywhere. He finished a plethora of dunks including a driving one hander in traffic and a two handed alley oop. Defensively, he moves his feet well and could guard multiple positions. He has good size, agility, and leaping ability. Appleget also caught passes on the interior with his back to the basket and scored, drew contact, or made plays for others.</span></p> <h5><span class="s2">[player_tooltip player_id="890467" first="Lucas" last="Vogt"] </span></h5> <p><span class="s2">Vogt is a strong ball handling guard that consistently knocked down pull up jumpers in the midrange in both of his contests. He hangs at the rim to avoiding shot blockers and score at the basket. </span></p> <h5><span class="s2">[player_tooltip player_id="1015812" first="Luke" last="Skar"]</span></h5> <p><span class="s2">Skar is a strong post player that gets up and down the court well. He scored efficiently on the interior with strong moves and by finding space around the rim for dump off passes. He continuously spun off the defenders to finish in the post and in transition. </span></p> <h5><span class="s2">[player_tooltip player_id="981717" first="Myles" last="Hoehne"]</span></h5> <p><span class="s2">Hoehne is a super active guard that bring effort on defense and attacks rebounds on both ends. Offensively, he does a good job getting out in transition and scoring in the open court. </span></p> <h5><span class="s2">[player_tooltip player_id="1015865" first="Dillon" last="Riedmiller"]</span></h5> <p><span class="s2">Riedmiller is a player to watch next season for Lincoln Southwest. He is a forward that has good size and strength. He played with patience on the interior, pump faking defenders and drawing contact or finishing once they flew by. He can get physical defending in the post and drew a charge with good positioning and footwork. Riedmiller finished a bunch of baskets and on the interior.</span></p> <h5><span class="s2">[player_tooltip player_id="1015813" first="Derek" last="Merwick"] </span></h5> <p><span class="s2">Merwick is a skilled ball handler with quickness to beat defenders off the dribble. He has vision to find cutters and can thread difficult passes through the defense. He is undersized but elevates well to score at the rim and rebound.</span></p> <h5><span class="s2">[player_tooltip player_id="890461" first="Jadin" last="Johnson"] </span></h5> <p><span class="s2">Johnson is a playmaking point guard that pushes the ball up the court quickly off makes or misses. He is a distributor that creates opportunities for teammates and makes defenses play fast and shift with his actions. Johnson made ball handlers work defensively and hit nothing but net on a deep spot up three.</span></p> <h5><span class="s2">[player_tooltip player_id="1015814" first="Jack" last="McKittrick"]</span></h5> <p><span class="s2">McKittrick is a long shooter than made threes over contesting hands.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> He plays mostly on the perimeter offensively, but h</span>elps as a rebounder defensively and has length to contest shots. McKittrick creates space offensively and is always ready to shoot. </span></p>